The European Commission has suspended screening of the merger between major South Korean shipbuilders Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).
The EU has notified that companies were encouraged to delay merger notifications originally planned until further notice due to the complexities and disruptions caused by the coronavirus.
According to the EU directorate-general for competition, services are likely to face difficulties in collecting information from third parties.
The completion of the shipyard merger requires approvals from antitrust authorities of South Korea, the European Union, Japan, China, Singapore and Kazakhstan.
In February, the Japanese government filed a petition at the World Trade Organization (WTO) questioning the legitimacy of the merger between HHI and DSME.
